Teen admits abandoning newborn boy in 2014

A woman charged with attempted first-degree murder after a newborn baby was found in a Dumpster has pleaded guilty, ending nearly two years ago of legal proceedings in the case.

The woman, who is not being identified because she was charged as a juvenile, was 17 when she was arrested.

She was accused of giving birth to a boy Aug. 30, 2014, and leaving him in a trash bin on West Lafayette Avenue hours later. A Murrayville truck driver who was cleaning out his vehicle found the child, who survived.

The teen had denied the baby was hers.

On Thursday, she admitted to the details contained in the juvenile petition, according to State’s Attorney Gray Noll. She will be sentenced Sept. 29.

Although charged as a juvenile, the sentence will have both juvenile and adult elements.

“She’s being prosecuted under an extended jurisdiction juvenile proceeding,” Noll said. “It’s a quasi-juvenile and adult proceeding. On the adult end, she was looking at six to 30 years in the Department of Corrections, followed by three years of mandatory supervised release.”

The felony can carry six to 30 years in prison with fines up to $25,000. With the teen’s plea, Noll said she’s looking at five years’ probation for the juvenile sentence and around 15 years in prison, which will be stayed for review.

Noll said he believed prosecutors had a strong case based on the evidence.

Delays kept the case before the court for more than a year, a large portion of which came from continuances while the teen waited for a mental evaluation.

The girl has been removed from home detention while she awaits a disposition hearing. Her sentence can’t be determined until the hearing takes place.